Lexus SC430 :: Dead Battery / Cannot Shift To Neutral
Oct 31, 2007
i was trying to align my headlights last night and forgot to switch them off. now the battery is dead and i need to shift it to neutral to roll it out of the garage and jump it. but it won't shift. the dealer said to turn it to on and step on the brake. doesn't work. i just get a buzzing sound coming from the engine compartment. is there any way to shift it? or do i just need to take the battery out and get it charged?
View 9 Replies
Advertisement
Parked my 2002 sc430 with 6 month old battery at airport for 10 days while I was out of the country. When I got back the battery was dead. It was easy to jump and the clock was still on. I could see nothing that was left on. I have seen some other cars that have had the problem, something about theft lights, gps etc. I drove it home about 30 miles and have had no problem since.
View 14 Replies
Reviving my car after long months of long winter storage and I cannot get the door unlocked. I know the battery is dead so the remote won't work, but I cannot even unlock the door with the key, twisting it back and forth and nothing happens. I am just trying to get under the hood so i can jump the car, but no way to unlock the door. It is a 2002 SC430 , is the key supposed to work ? Or does the car need battery for the key to twist and unlock the door?
View 9 Replies
I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but if you need to put an 01-03 Prius into Neutral with dead battery (i.e. to push the car so you can reach it with jumper cables) you need to remove the rectangular panel on the bottom drivers side of the steering column. It's tiny, smaller than a postage stamp. Use a strong pen-knife or very small screwdriver to pop the panel out.
You may want to remove the panel when things are good, so if you ever have to use the gearshift release you don't have to hunt around for a knife since it's on pretty tight from the factory. (just leave it off once removed).
View 2 Replies
A little back story my hybrid battery went out about 4 months ago ago and I've been saving money to get it fixed. I've been trying to remember to start it and get it moving every so often. Well I guess I didn't do it enough because go to drive the Prius yesterday to get it started and moved since it's been awhile and the main battery is dead. The way the Prius is parked I can't even get to it to jump it. I'm wondering is there a way to put it in neutral with a dead battery? Or is there a way to charge the battery, since it's actually inside the car? And I'm assuming since the 12V is drained, I'll have to replace that as well correct?
I'm about over this car, while it done great the first 7 years I had it, past two have been a royal pain. Ready to go back to a normal engine and car.
View 8 Replies
My fiance has a honda civic that has been sitting in an indoor garage for around a year. I move the car about 6 months ago with no issues. Recently we needed to move it again and of course the battery was dead so I decided to push it. With the key on, I released the shifter lock and put the car in neutral but the car wouldn't budge an inch.
Is it possible this is more than just rusted brakes? If it is just rusted brakes do I need to take off the wheels to free them?
View 5 Replies
Does coasting in neutral (to save fuel) cause any damage or wear when shifting the gear lever into Drive while moving?
View 6 Replies
I have recurring P0705 trouble codes. Lexus dealer checked the N/S switch itself and said it's good. I checked all the wiring, found an open, shouted Eureka! Ran a new wire, now all wires test good, but still getting the code. SO - I think I may need to adjust the position of the switch, since the trouble code is for a range malfunction. BUT - I can't find a procedure anywhere.
View 3 Replies
I recently got into my 2002 SC430 and could not shift the car out of park. In addition, another symptom was that when I pressed the brake pedal, my rear brake lights would either come on momentarily and then turn off (looked like a strobe-light effect), OR the rear brake lights would not come on at all (the taillights, however, continued to function).
The only way to get around this issue was to use the manual override (by taking out the little plastic tab on the shifter and using a screw driver to press the hidden button, which would momentarily override and let me shift).
After much research, I found out that my Brake Switch/Sensor was failing (this is what tells the car's computer that you're pressing the brake pedal, and thus allowing you to shift out of Park). Unfortunately, I don't have the model number handy.
My non-Lexus mechanic charged me $100 (parts and labor) to replace the Brake Switch/Sensor. I'm not sure how much the actual part cost, but it couldn't have been much. It's a very scary feeling when you need to drive somewhere quick and you cannot shift out of Park.
View 6 Replies
When I come to either a hard stop or apply my brakes hard while on the highway I can feel a slight shift of the seat forward (as if it is tilting forward) and then when I accelerate again I feel it rock back into place. I only weigh about 150lbs so I doubt it has to do with that. It's minimal and I think it started at around 50K miles (so, just a couple thousand miles ago).
View 7 Replies
I'm having an alarm issue that I didn't think much about until last night. Twice in the last three days I've come out to a completely dead battery because the alarm has been triggered. The first time it happen was at the gym and I thought maybe the car got bumped, I inspected it and found nothing out of place. Last night , I came out and the car was dead. This time the car wasn't around any other vehicles and was in a place that no one should have had to go by it. Something is a miss here and was wondering if any of you might have experienced anything similar? The first time it happen I was able to get into the vehicle using the key fob, last night I wasn't so lucky. I had to use a lock kit to get in so I could jump it. I had to do this because I usually separate my fob from the physical key so I don't have to carry them. Until this is resolved, I'll have to stop doing that.
One more thing, I noticed last night after getting the car jumped, I was able to drive home, park the car and when I went to set the alarm, my auto headlights would not shut off after hitting the "Lock" button several times on the fob. Every other time, hitting the lock button twice would always shut off the lights.
View 5 Replies
I have a 2006 GS 300 AWD with 47,000 miles. I am currently on my fourth battery in 13 months. Between 12/2008 and 12/2009 I have had to have three batteries replaced. The dealer says there is nothing wrong with my car. Is there anything I can do. The last time the battery died on 12/5/2009 the car could not be jump started and had to be towed. The dealer said there was no parasitic electrical short and I have just had three dead batteries in one year. I have heard there have been electrical defects in Toyota products and it is not just the gas pedal.
View 14 Replies
I bought a BatteryMinder Model 2012 charger. This is a low-amperage temperature-compensating multi-stage charger/maintainer/desulfator that is supposed to avoid the wear and tear that lesser chargers inflict on batteries in long-term storage.
The charger comes with a 2-foot cable section with a terminal connection on one end and a capped plug on the other. I like the idea of an easy disconnect so I don't have to get under the hood each time I want to take the car out for a jaunt. My first thought was to run the cable and plug to the grill area of the car, except there's no easy way to do this without the plug showing. Also, the permanently-attached cable is only 2-feet long.
So I'm wondering about the windshield wiper tray, passing from the battery over the hood's rubber seal:
I attached a photo, showing where the charger cable might run. I can't see any conflict with the wiper or other functions. Am I missing anything?
The charger itself would be screwed to the garage wall.
Also, how about using a charger/maintainer with a cover over the car? This charger should not be pushing the battery and causing any water loss. So, I'm thinking that destructive gases should not be a problem. Again, am I missing something?
View 7 Replies
We have had a problem with our SC430 battery going dead if it sits more than a week. We have had this car for a number of years and I am tired of putting a trickle charger on it all the time to keep it from going dead!
I can not believe that Lexus does not know what the big drain is on this vehicle when it sits even for a small period of time....I went to a Lexus dealer several years ago to have a new timing belt/water pump put in it and asked how to keep my battery from going dead. They pointed over the parts counter to a motorcycle type battery charger as they answer!
A friend has a late model Mercedes hardtop convertible, they (Mercedes) solved the problem by putting two batteries in it. One is isolated for just cranking! So, before I start with a fully charged battery and pulling every fuse and disconnecting everything until I find it. What is the big battery eater?
View 14 Replies
2008 SC 430.....battery went dead, to zero. Got jumped. Went to dealer who sold me new battery. Drove 90 highway miles. Got home & put trickle charger on to "just see" what battery recorded. It was at 75%. Removed trickle charger. Checked again following morning & battery at 65%.
View 7 Replies
I have a megaphone that I installed a while ago but I connected it straight to the battery. I noticed that it was draining my battery so I had to disconnect it. Now I am trying to figure out how i should connect this megaphone to my car without it draining the battery, when I am not using it.
View 7 Replies
My battery went dead in my 2004 rx330. We tried jumping it but the horn continually went off and the ignition wouldn't acknowledge the key. We have replaced it and only the dash lights up, and locks work, but wont start...
View 1 Replies
My Mom purchased a new 2011 Lexus RX350 last spring. The dealer installed a remote starter at the time of purchase (we live in Alaska). We've had a continuing problem with the battery going dead if the car has not been driven for a period of time (like 4 days). When she does drive it, it is for short trips (3 miles round trip to work). The original battery was replaced in fall with a heavy duty one, but the problem continues. Its been to the Lexus dealer (130 miles away) several times, but they claim everything is within the tolerances and "there is no problem".
They did note that the remote starter was drawing more than it was suppose to and reinstalled it. Their finding was that she was not driving it enough and recommended a battery tender, which has been installed. That works as long as she plugs it in daily. However, if a plug in is not available (like at the airport, hospital or if she is visiting) the battery goes dead after 4 days (even after it has been driven 100 miles).
View 19 Replies
About month ago, the CHECK ENGINE, VSC, and VSC OFF lights came on in the dash of my '03 SC430 (~175k miles). Took it to the dealer and they read the codes; indicating a bad O2 sensor. They replaced it, and the lights went off. A few days later, the lights came back on. The lights remained ON until this past weekend.
On Sunday, i went to start the car in the morning and the thing wouldn't turn over. Turns out the battery was dead. The label indicated it was 5yrs old. So i bought a new battery. After installation, i noticed the error lights were no longer illuminated on the dash, but just figured it was due to the fact that the battery was disconnected during installation. But after driving it extensively since then, the lights have remained off.
Something else i've noticed since installing the new battery is the lack of the "rotten egg" smell from the exhaust. Before the change, i noticed a significant decrease in acceleration and the emissions smelled very bad. But for the past few days, i've noticed a dramatic increase in power and cleaner smelling emissions. Not sure if they're related...
Could the check engine lights have been the result of my battery dying? I'm not sure why they haven't come back on since the battery replacement. Nor a reason why i'm noticing improved performance and better smelling emissions.
View 2 Replies
My SC430 has been acting weird for a couple months now. I let it set for a month or so and the battery died. I charged it up and it was fine. Now its not starting again. It cranks just fine and all of the electronics seem to be working. I've tried all 3 of my keys. The first time It did this I unhooked the battery and charged it, put it back in and it started and ran fine for a couple weeks. Last week it did it again, took the battery out charged it and it ran for one day. Now its just cranking again. The battery is only a year old, but I think I am going to go ahead and get a new one and see if that works.
View 5 Replies
My wife's 2010 RX350 wouldn't start this morning. My guess is that the battery drained overnight with the back door ajar. After getting it started with a battery jump the rear hatch would not open by hand, the dash button or the key button. After driving and charging the battery the hatch would open. I'd this to be expected or an indication that perhaps the hatch has a fault?
View 1 Replies
